We all know that reviews written by real people help to flesh out the details of a business. So why is it that hardly anyone writes reviews?
Several of my friends love to talk about their favourite places to eat, or shop but very few of them write reviews of anywhere they go. We talked about the reasons why this was the case. For some it was time – they just didn’t think it was worth their while to spend the time writing it. For others it was that they weren’t sufficiently moved either positively or negatively to bother. Always keen to solve the insoluble I’ve put together this list of how to get more reviews.
0) Be remarkable
In case you were wondering why I’ve numbered this point zero, this is because being worthy of comment is the ground zero of getting reviews. Ever wonder why Seth Godin just won’t stop banging on about being remarkable? That’s because it’s important! If the average response you illicit is ‘meh’ and would have most people ticking the ‘just average’ box on a comment form, you’ve got serious problems. Take care of this first. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, if you can’t find something to give people to talk about, ask your customers what would blow them away and find a way to do that. If you’re still stuck, and wish you weren’t, maybe change your line of work.
1) Just Ask
Granted some people just won’t write reviews but in a lot of cases all it takes is asking someone if they wouldn’t mind spending a few minutes, next time you get a compliment on your product/service, to share that sentiment with others. (The same goes for referrals by the way). Afraid of coming across as needy or narcissistic by asking straight out? If you really want to avoid that, soft-pedal with the suggestions below.
2) Provide links to/excerpts of existing reviews
And not just the great ones – people aren’t stupid, they can find the average and even the bad reviews. Some people just don’t appreciate what you do, so learn from it and show that you’ve learned from it. If the site/medium the review is in lets you reply and you think you can make things right by stating your side, do so. If your side is indefensible, apologise. Whatever you do, do not use the phrase ‘it is against our policy’. Customers and potential customers don’t want to hear you spouting stuff that could have come from a software license agreement. They want to know that you’re human.
3) Link to the places people can submit reviews
Not just from your site either, though if you don’t have any reviews up on the site, linking to review sites is a good start to getting some. If you have a physical location show signs and logos to the same end. When customers leave give them their receipt wrapped in a short note from the owner or manager, with details of where they can write reviews.
4) Make it easy for people to write reviews by providing them the means to do so at your location. Anything from comment cards to providing free wi-fi. If you want to spread good word of mouth, there’s nothing so effective as handing people a megaphone.
Photo credit Stefanvds
